Thats where James was left, sitting in the main room of Vault 112 his daughter on one side, and her ghoul companion on the other. James and Charon sat in silence, listening to Kate's breathing shallow out as she drifted off to sleep. James couldn't help but feel awkward sitting near her mysterious friend. Once again, the idea that they were hiding something seeped into James's mind. He wondered if he could convince Charon to open up a little, all in the sake of his daughter's safety. She had told him everything about her new life in the Wastes, besides Charon. Even though Kate wouldn't tell him, James felt he had a right to know who had been traveling with his daughter.

"I'm glad she's had someone to look out for her." James finds thats the best way to start. Kate is the only thing Charon and him have in common. The ghoul's face is completely impassive as Charon watches his daughter sleep. He doesn't take his eyes off her, but he does produce a slight grunt in response. James takes that as a, "You're welcome."

Determined, he slides a bit closer to Charon, hoping to corner the silent man into talking. "I feel so bad about everything i've put her through." James continues, talking to himself, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You weren't" A raspy voice replies. James had to look around the room before he could be sure it was Charon. The ghoul had barely said a thing since he left his pod, and when he had spoke it had been only to Kate. James was even more surprised to get a direct opinion out of the over six foot bodyguard.

This is good he thinks Keep going.

"You're right Charon, I wasn't." James lets his insecurities show for the sake of learning their secret. "At least she's been well taken care of." He isn't an idiot, James knows his daughter didn't leave the Vault knowing how to protect herself. While she seems capable, he knows Charon must have played a part in toughing his little girl up.

James isn't sure, but he swears he sees Charon smirk at that comment. He has him somewhat communicating and he doesn't want that to stop. "I want to thank you."

Charon seems to have a harder time concealing his smirk. The ghoul just shakes his head and begins to remove his armor, laying it in a neat pile beside him. James tries a few more times to make conversation, but the ghoul doesn't bite. Instead Charon just strips down to his overshirt jacket and pants. He looks more relaxed, James can almost see the person behind the intimidation. Once he's done with his armor, Charon starts taking apart the impressive shotgun that has been strapped to his back all day. James had noticed his daughter sporting a similar, but lesser model.

"Thats a really nice gun." James comments, fishing the .32 out of his pocket. "I've just got this pistol." Charon gives it a quick glance before turning back to his own gun. He seems consumed with the thing, cleaning it as if his life depends on it. Well really, everyone's lives in the Wasteland depend on guns. James tries that topic, "You should tell me about it. I'd like one for myself, then we could all match." The idea of the three of them fighting their way back to Rivet City with triplet shotguns almost made him laugh. Charon does not seem to have the same reaction, he, as before ignores James.

Knowing he's almost out of chances, James was going to blatantly ask what was up, but a small whimper shot through the air like lightning in a radiation storm. Both men look to its source, the curled up Vault girl. Kate's face lookes pained, her tiny fists balled into the bare mattress. She appears to be shivering and shaking from a nightmare. For a moment Kate tosses and turns, causing James to think she had woken up. Then another cry erupts from her throat, this one more desperate and scared than the last. James almost rose to check on his daughter, when out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of movement.

He looks up at the massive ghoul now standing where he had previously been sitting. Charon had dropped everything, even his gun and the sound of Kate crying out in her sleep. James watches as Charon's fists clench and unclench, his jaw tighten, and his mind race. Another whimper comes from Kate's direction and Charon is no longer standing next to James. Before he knows it, the bodyguard is kneeled beside his daughter. James watches as Charon removes his overshirt and places it around Kate, keeping as much of her warm as possible. With his overshirt off, James can see the exposed muscle of Charon's arms as he leans over his daughter. He watches the ghoul run his scared hand over Kate's forehead, pushing her hair out of the way. James can barely see his little girl's face, but he swears she smiled.

As James watches Charon walk back to where his gun lay everything makes sense. It was as if a light bulb went off in his head, James finally knew. Once Charon settles back on the metal floor, he gives the doctor a quick look before returning to his cleaning. "She has night terrors." He says gruffly, brushing off the whole situation. But James has already discovered the secret her companion held, and he is completely convinced. He knows it won't be easy to get Charon to open up about it, hell he wouldn't even talk about guns with the good doctor. There was only one way to do this, and it was with a lie.

With confidence James says, "She told me about you two."

That got a reaction out of him. Charon immediately drops the gun part he was cleaning, his eyes cutting into James. Despite that, the doctor can't help but smile. James was sure that either A: His daughter had some sort of relationship with Charon, or B: Charon wished to have a relationship with his daughter. He can't blame the man, Kate is a pretty girl, even with the grime of the Wasteland covering her. Plus, it wasn't the first time James had heard of a "smoothskin" and a ghoul being together.

Charon looks at him with complete disbelief, and James knows why. If he was right and they did have an established relationship built upon trust, Kate wouldn't betray him. James had to keep talking, keep convincing him. "Kate decided to tell me, she felt it would be best that I knew. She wasn't trying to be dishonest with you."

"She didn't tell you anything." Charon growls, pushing his gun aside.

"Charon I think I know love when I see it, and if I know my daughter I-"

"You left her." He snarls like a wild animal. Charon slams his fist against the floor. James stays silent as he watches the ghoul rise and tower above him. "She could have died in that Vault." His words are toxic, but James knows all of this. He is a shitty parent, always trying to balance keeping his daughter safe with his young adult dreams.

"You're right." James calmly replies, trying to focus on the blood slowly dripping from Charon's fist. He knows once this all blows over he'll have to fix it.

"Thats all you can fucking say?!" The ghoul spits, his fists clenched. James prays he doesn't hit anything else. "You know why she has nightmares? Because she can't handle everything thats happened to her. And who do you think is there for her? Me. You shouldn't be thanking me for watching out for her, I would have done that anyways. You should be groveling at her feet for forgiveness."

"Kate and I have already worked out our issues." James says.

Charon scoffs, "Yeah? She must have let you off pretty damn easy, girl is too nice for her own good." The ghoul backs off a bit, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

"She hates smoking." James points out, hoping to push his buttons a little bit more.

"I fucking know that." The ghoul growls back, "She lectures me every time I-" Charon stops, shaking his head and returning to the pieces of his gun. James knows Charon realizes just how much he has given away. Charon sits by his gun, but doesn't touch it. He just smokes his cigarette and runs his free hand over his face. It's only then that the ghoul realizes he's bleeding.

"You care about her." James finally breaks the uncomfortable silence that had settled around them. Charon has to care about his daughter, if he didn't he wouldn't be ready to rip her father to shreds for the things he's done. With a sigh James scrounges together some medical supplies to patch the ghoul up. When he approaches Charon gives him an unwelcoming stare, but allows him to work on his hand.

Charon's fist was rough like aged leather. It felt strange, James hadn't touched a ghoul in years. While he bandages up his hand, Charon stares at James. When he was done, he gives his daughter's companion a smile. James almost returns to his spot, but is stopped by a raspy voice.

"I didn't want her to tell you." James turns to face Charon, his eyes on the metal floor. "Kate...she was excited to find you...I didn't want to ruin it for her." James is surprised to hear it was all Charon's idea. He assumed Kate wanted to break the news to him gently. There had been no ghouls in the vault, his daughter would have had no idea how he viewed them. James had imagined she was scared of his opinion, but it was Charon who was afraid.

"I'm not a bigot." James whispers. Somehow that seems like the wrong thing to say, like he's trying to prove it to himself. James immediately regrets it.

Charon smirks, "You don't have to be, she's your daughter." James wonders what he would have said if Kate had told him. What if he had never met Charon? If he had never seen how he looked at his little girl, would he have been disgusted at the thought of her being with a ghoul? James tells himself no, but he honestly wonders. He can never remember a time when he treated a ghoul as less than human, but no ghoul had ever loved Kate.

As if he could read his thoughts, Charon sighs and says, "Exactly."

The ghoul goes back to fiddling with his gun parts. James lets the silence settle in around them as he wrestles with his own mind. He isn't sure how to feel now that possibility A has been confirmed. Kate had never had a boyfriend in the vault, not that James felt like he can project that title onto Charon. When he looks at the ghoul, boy is definitely not the first thing that come to mind. Despite that, James trusted Charon. He doesn't know him, but if he is who Kate has chosen then he trusts his daughter's judgement.

"I...I'm not upset about you and Kate." James says, finally finding his voice. "I'm happy my daughter has you. Besides, she's all grown up now, she can make her own choices. Even if I had a problem with it, what could I do? Why would she care what her no-good father thought?"

Charon finishes putting his gun back together before answering. "She didn't tell you about us."

James gapes at him with disbelief, "How do you know?" He had been so sure that Charon believed him, what did he do wrong?

The ghoul looks him in the eyes, "Kate wouldn't break a promise."

Of course, his daughter is too virtuous and trustworthy. She would never give Charon a reason not to trust her.

"I shouldn't have lied to you." James says, feeling guilty for attempting to deceive Charon. "I didn't know how else to get you to talk. I could tell you were both hiding something."

His daughter's companion sighs and picks at his newly bandaged knuckles, "It's my fault for not being more careful."

James watches Charon, finally looking at him with full knowledge of who he is. He isn't just his daughter's companion, her bodyguard, he is who Kate loves.

"How long have the two of you..."He gulps, suddenly feeling nervous, "been together?"

"We've been traveling together for close to a year...everything else happened about three months ago." Charon doesn't make eye contact with James, but he's just thankful to have his questions answered.

"What brought you two together...romantically I mean?" James watches Charon stare at his boots.

"It's a long story." The ghoul smirks.

James doesn't press. He's sure Kate will explain the details to him at some point. It just stirs his curiosity how two very different people could end up confessing their feelings for one another.

For a moment it seems like the conversation is dead, but James lights a cigarette from a pack he picked up on whim. He hands the lit one to the ghoul and takes out another for himself. James hasn't smoked in years, the adverse effects leading him away from the habit. But it seems like a small price to pay to earn Charon's friendship.

"I won't tell her if you don't. " He says, smiling at his daughter's lover.

Charon takes the cigarette with the hint of a smile. Despite his medical knowledge, James told himself one wouldn't hurt either of them. And as for Kate, she would understand. The two men smoke in a short silence before James says,

"So, who fell for who first?" He smiles, betting he can guess correctly.

"Kate likes to pretend it was her," Charon smirks, "but she knows that's not true."

James nods in agreement. Although he suspected his daughter wasn't far behind, he had bet on Charon to be the first.

"You really love her?" He asks without thinking.

"More than anything." It's such a simple admission, but it makes James wonder just what Kate means to Charon. As a ghoul, he had been guaranteed a hard life, but what else has this man faced?

"How exactly did you meet Kate?" He ventures.

"You want the honest answer?" Charon asks and James shakes his head.

"She bought me. I was...I still am a slave. Their isn't anything Kate or anyone can do about it."

James found himself choking on his words, "You're a slave?!" No, not his daughter, he thought. Kate would never own a slave, she would never condone behavior like that much less participate in it.

Charon removes the cigarette from his mouth, "I was brainwashed, ever since I was a kid up until the war. What they did to me can't be undone." He says, tapping the side of his head with his free hand. "Before your daughter came and bought my contract I was rotting in a bar in Underworld. It was the most miserable servitude I have experienced." Charon sighs, "She saved me."

James is relieved to know that his daughter isn't a slaver, but disappointed that Charon can not be freed.

"Nothing can be done?" He asks, hoping.

"Nothing." Charon puts the cigarette back between his lips and takes a long drag.

With that James does the same, trying to enjoy the nicotine without thinking of his organs rotting away. He feels more comfortable with Charon now, despite the uncomfortable conversation. The security makes him brave enough to ask embarrassing questions.

"My daughter isn't very experienced with relationships, as i'm sure she's told you." Charon nods slightly, looking at James with uncertainty.

The doctor sighs, letting the cigarette rest in his hand, "What i'm asking...and you don't have to tell me, but as far as I knew she was...a virgin when she left the Vault...but now...?"

When James finally looks up at Charon it's almost laughable how tense he looks. The ghoul is just letting the cigarette burn away in-between his cracked lips, his eyes wide in horror. James feels guilty, but has to puff on his cigarette in order to keep from chuckling.

"I'll take that as a no." James says, unable to contain the smile that spread on his face. He isn't angry, James had actually assumed just as much. The general attitude in the Wasteland had always been, "Live today, die tomorrow." He guessed Kate had caught onto that early on. If she was in love, she needed to enjoy it while she still could.

Finally Charon collects himself and goes back to smoking. "Uh...yeah." He grumbles out, probably hoping James can't hear. He'd have to ask Kate if he wanted more of an answer than that, although he is sure she would be just as awkward. The thought of his little girl not being so little anymore doesn't bother James as much as he expected. After all, he was the one that had forced her to grow up. He had unknowingly pushed her out into the dangers of the Wasteland. Kate had faced more grown up situations than sex.

"All I ask is that you treat my daughter right." James says, stubbing out what is left of his cigarette. It isn't that he felt Charon wasn't, but he wanted to make sure he knew. Kate has always been everything James had, he wouldn't allow anyone to wrong her the way he had.

"I would never hurt her." Charon says, sincerity and seriousness coating his voice. The ghoul stubs out his cigarette as well, leaving the small remainder by his boot.

"I hope that along with Kate, you can forgive me for hurting her." James has not forgotten how angry Charon had been about that. He can't blame the ghoul, if someone had done to Kate what he had James would have felt the same way.

Charon sighs, his cool blue eyes softening a bit, "If she can forgive you, so can I."

James isn't sure if that means Charon already has, or if it meant he eventually would. None the less, he nods and accepts it. James knows has no right to critique or question, he deserves whatever treatment he gets.